Russia has one cosmodrome leased in Kazakhstan, which is used to launch people to the International Space Station. But it became known that in the country it is planned to create one more, but already a private cosmodrome. Where and for what purpose?
Baikonur - the largest space veteran
In 1955 the USSR created the first space center in the world (it is also considered the largest), which was called Baikonur. On its territory 15 launch complexes are located, and the cosmodrome itself is located in Kazakhstan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Kazakhstan became independent and, in fact, owns the spaceport. Therefore, Russia has to rent it for a while (the period is pumped in 2050).
This is where all the astronauts and astronauts who want to get to the International Space Station start. America lost the possibility of launches from its own territory after canceling the shuttle program. Although the private company SpaceX has already managed to perform a successful test launch of the crew capsule, so it can still change.
If Russia already has a functioning cosmodrome, then why create a new one? In addition, what type of rocket or mission plan to launch from the new site?
New Cosmodrome
It is about building the first private in the country cosmodrome. Nizhny Novgorod Region was chosen as the territory. By the way, they recently reported that the local company “Cosmocourse” has already signed the necessary agreement for construction. If you manage to collect the necessary amount, then you can expect the first start in 2025. Prospects seem to be quite good, because the project is already counting on investments in the form of 2.6 billion rubles from private investors. Experts carefully select the site and try to focus only on environmentally friendly materials as rocket fuel.
But what is the purpose? The main goal is space tourism! The company plans to keep up with private American companies and also cover a new niche. New suborbital rockets should rise 200 km in height, and the flight itself will cover about a quarter of an hour with a few minutes of flight in a state of weightlessness. The ticket price is still difficult to say, but the approximate figures cover 200-250 thousand dollars.
Postscript
Why not organize tourist flights from Baikonur? In fact, a similar service exists, but the problem is the price. Now we have to lay out tens of millions of dollars. So a new private company will significantly reduce the price and make the service more affordable.
